Chelsea respond to Diego Costa’s three-game ban for violent conduct

Gabriel had initially received a three-match ban following his actions in the London derby clash which happened at the brink of the half-time break.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho opted for a diplomatic “no comment” after a Football Association charge of violent conduct against striker Diego Costa was upheld.

During a Champions League round of 16 game earlier this year, Costa tackled PSG’s Thiago Silva from behind that should have resulted in a red card but escaped with only a mere yellow.

The FA, which supplied video footage to a panel of three former referees, confirmed that match officials did not see the incident between Costa and Koscielny and thus were not disciplined for the blown calls. The Brazilian failed to immediately leave the pitch and then tried to confront Costa before being restrained by his teammates.

And Jair thinks his brother’s issues have been apparent since childhood, saying: “This isn’t something new”. It is always the same old story.

“It’s hard for Diego to change a habit of a lifetime”.

“As brothers we’ve always been close but always fought over football because we were so passionate about trying to be better than the other“.

“He will never be beaten and as a child, when his team loses or he disagrees on a foul, it turns into an impossible rage ending with quarreling with his opponents”.

He added: “When he played for fun with us he was a real tyrant, especially if he was on the losing side“.

It means Costa now misses Chelsea’s Capital One Cup trip to Walsall, their game at Newcastle on Saturday and next home game with Southampton.

It is the second time in Costa’s Chelsea career that he has been banned after a match, following a stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can last season.